Victorian Fencing Society

Friday, September 2, 2016

Fencing helped to build
the character of Winston Churchill (1874-1965). From a young age he felt he was
destined for greatness and invincible in battle. But the future Prime Minister
of Great Britain was not an exemplary student at school. He enrolled at Harrow
in 1888, and it was probably his family name that helped him to get through his
academics. However, Winston excelled in subjects that appealed to him such as
English and History, and he took an interest in athletics. This pursuit prompted
him to write a letter to his mother Lady Randolph about a desire to take up
fencing.

“I want to
learn fencing. I go to the Gymnasium a great deal and I think it would be so
much better for me to learn something which would be useful to me in the army,
as well as affording me exercise and amusement. I’m sure, since I have been
working well, you will not hesitate to sign the enclosed order and return it by
post.”

Described as a small
and delicate boy at 5 foot 6 inches tall with a 31 inch chest, fencing gave
Winston the chance to prove himself. He took to fencing with great enthusiasm
and soon became the best fencer in his school. He was gratified to earn the
honor of representing Harrow in a tournament at Aldershot. The winner would be
England’s public-school fencing champion.

He wrote: “My fencing
is now my great employment out of school as now that I represent the School it
behoves me to ‘sweat up’.”

Winston crossed foils
with boys from several other schools such as Eton and Winchester. He beat them
all, winning the Public Schools Fencing Championship in 1892.

He wrote home proudly:
“I have won the fencing. A very fine cup. I was far and away first. Absolutely
untouchable in the finals.”

Winston displayed his
knack for self-promotion and attention that would follow himself in later years
by having photographs made showing himself in fencing gear with his awards.

After his victory the school newspaper the Harrovian reported: "His
success was chiefly due to his quick and dashing attack, which quite took his
opponents by surprise."

And the
paper added: “Churchill
must be congratulated on his success over all his opponents in the fencing
line, many of whom must have been much taller and more formidable than himself."

At 18 years of age, Winston entered Sandhurst Military Academy where he showed particular skill with horses and graduated eighth in his class of one hundred and fifty. He was commissioned as a Cornet (Second Lieutenant) in the 4th Queen's Own Hussars in 1895.

Now in the military,
Winston would be armed with a sharp sword. He would serve with the 4th
Hussars, and is seen photographed with two models during his service. The light
cavalry sword and the heavy cavalry sword.

The light cavalry pattern saber had a slightly curved steel blade 35 1/2 inches long, suitable for both cutting and thrusting. It weighed about 2 pounds. The grip was of wood covered in fish skin and bound with silver wire. The hand-grip was protected by a steel three-bar hilt.

In 1896 light cavalry officers adopted the heavy cavalry pattern sword. It was only slightly heavier and of similar length, though straighter. The grip protection was a scroll bar made of steel.

Winston
would rarely us the sword in battle, though he recognized its usefulness to the
British campaigns in the North West Frontier (Pakistan and parts of
Afghanistan) and the Sudan (Northern Africa).

Eager to see adventure
and action, he entered his military career as a junior cavalry lieutenant and a
war correspondent. While in the North West Frontier in 1897 he showed a rash
desire to make sure he made a name for himself, riding a grey charger so that
he stood out. The Afghans knew they were no match for the British using regular
formations in battle. Instead, they relied on guerilla tactics and ambushes.
This often resulted in fierce hand to hand combat.

During the Mamund Campaign in
1897 Winston engaged in a scene reminiscent of Indiana Jones. He was confronted
by a sword wielding enemy who had just finished hacking at a wounded officer. As
he later wrote in his book: “I forgot everything else at this moment except a
desire to kill this man. I wore my long cavalry sword well-sharpened. After
all, I had won the Public Schools fencing medal. I resolved on personal combat a
l’arme blanche. The savage saw me coming. I was not more than 20 yards away. He
picked up a big stone and hurled it at me with his left hand, and then awaited
me, brandishing his sword. There were others waiting not far behind him. I
changed my mind about the cold steel. I pulled out my revolver, took, as I
thought, most careful aim, and fired. No result. I fired again. No result. I
fired again. Whether I hit him or not, I cannot tell. At any rate he ran back
two or three yards and plumped down behind a rock. The fusillade was
continuous. I looked around. I was alone with the enemy. Not a friend was to be
seen. I ran as fast as I could. There were bullets everywhere.”

Winston was also at the
Battle of Omdurman in 1898, participating in one of the British Army’s last
full-scale cavalry charges. The young officer wrote of the hand to hand
fighting that occurred: “It was the kind of fighting they thoroughly
understood. Moreover, the fight was with equal weapons, for the British too
fought with sword and lance as in the days of old.”

Winston suffered from
an old shoulder injury, though, and made more use of his pistol than sword.

Such exploits helped to
make a name for himself, and aided his rise in politics to become one of the
best known statesmen in the 20th century.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

A
New System of Sword Exercise for Infantry by Richard F. Burton (1821-1890)

Burton’s
Sword Exercise - Printed in London in 1876 by William Clowes and Sons

The dedication page.

Burton
provides an interesting perspective on the nineteenth century sword manuals
intended for military training. It is often said that the character of a person
can be learned in just 5 minutes of fencing with them. This may also be true of
5 minutes of reading a fencing manual. All of Burton’s fortes and foibles are
on display – his knowledge, bluster, faultfinding, and sense of humor.

Sir
Richard Francis Burton was an extraordinary Victorian. He was an explorer and
anthropologist, who may be most famous for not finding the source of the
Nile River. His many accomplishments include a journey to Mecca disguised as a
native, explorations in Africa, Asia and the Americas, and learning a vast
number of languages – 29 according to Burton himself. He was also a prolific
author.

A
portrait of Burton. Note the scar on his cheek, received in Africa when a spear
pierced through his face during a battle with natives.

Burton
would write about anything, but the sword was a favorite subject. Besides A New System of Sword Exercise for Infantry,
he wrote a treatise on bayonet fencing in 1853. The Book of the Sword (1884) is an unfinished history of the sword, and
the Sentiment of the Sword: A Country
House Dialogue, was published in 1911 after his death. Burton said of the
sword, “The History of the sword is the history of humanity”.

He
was an accredited fencing master, and his ability to compare fencing with other
national systems such as German and Italian is one of the things that make this
manual an interesting item. His unique contribution is the use of manchettes, a
system of cuts at the arm used to disable an opponent.

In his introductory remarks, he
lambasts contemporary English and French manuals. He states that there has been
no advancement in the use of the sword.

“Whilst the last half century has
witnessed an immense improvement in the projectile weapons of the civilized
world, the theory and practice of the sabre or cutting arm have remained in statu quo ante; indeed,
if there has been any change it is for the worse.”

He then goes on to criticize the
current British military manuals as obsolete, and “nought but a snare and a delusion”.
He notes that the only updates in the manuals are the uniforms in the picture
plates.

Of the Infantry Sword Exercise he
says “I am opposed to almost every page of this unhappy brochure” objecting to
the shape of the target, the grip of the sword, the position of the guard and
the parries.

For
example, and many of his contemporaries agree, he insists that one should “sit
on guard” with the weight equally distributed on both legs. He describes the
reason for the old style of keeping the bodyweight on the left leg:

“The person is not so much exposed; moreover, that
the centre of gravity being thrown back adds spring and impetus to the Lunge.”

But this risks cramps in the overworked rear leg,
which for Burton is enough to discard its use.

He criticizes the Guards. Of the Hanging Guard he
says it is a “painful spectacle” and a “Lesson of what to avoid”. It exposes
the right forearm and is fatiguing.

The inside engaging guard (carte) also endangers
the forearm, and outside engaging guard (tierce) holds the hand too low and
endangers the arm.

Burton calls the “loose practice” with the
singlestick a mistake for learning saber. The lack of edges on the stick (which
he says is simply a different weapon) lends to every blow representing a cut.

He also criticizes the simplification of terms,
such as right and left for tierce and carte “as if such mysteries were too high
or too deep for our national intelligence.”

Burton was not shy about criticizing the practices
of the British government and military, and he developed a world view that
could eschew British superiority.

He suggests that the British soldier will be equal
in intelligence with the rest of Europe "When we enlist the right
kind of recruit either by improving his condition and his prospects,
not his pay, or better, far better, by securing a superior man
through the conscription of modern Europe. We Britons are no longer
physically divided from the total orb; nor can we afford to remain morally
insulated and isolated. The logical effect of union with the outer
world will be to make us do as the world does, and all our exceptional
institutions, such as the system of volunteer recruiting, must sooner or
later go by the board.”

Finished
with his critical introduction, and asking that his own work be similarly
scrutinized, Burton emphasizes the importance of his treatise.

“I have now finished with the ungrateful
task of criticizing, and I proceed to propose a
system which it is hoped will be as severely criticized by others. It is
only candid to state that its pretensions are high, that it contains two distinct
novelties, the Manchette System and the Reverse or Backcut; and,
finally, that it aspires to be the first Treatise in which the broadsword is
scientifically taken in hand.”

Section I. PREPARATORY INSTRUCTION
WITHOUT THE SWORD.

Preliminary

Burton refers to the preparatory squad
drills of Balance and Extension motion training as the “goose step of the
sword”. Squad drill, he notes, will not likely make a good swordsman, but
economy of time renders it a necessity.

First Position in Two Motions

He goes through First Position, Second
Positon (the Guard), and Third Position (from Guard to Lunge). To avoid fatigue
and give additional balance to the body, Burton suggests they also practice the
actions standing as a left handed fencer would do.

Attacking,
Advancing and Retiring

The
attack Burton refers to is a beat on the ground with the right foot. He
apparently is describing the appel.

Section II. PREPARATORY INSTRUCTION
WITH THE SWORD

Explanation and use of the target

One of Burton’s criticisms is the depiction
of the target in most saber manuals. With his typical caustic humor he notes: “to
the shape of the target—I never yet saw a man absolutely
circular;” This is a reference to most cutting targets depicted in saber
manuals that are circular in shape, showing the directions of the cuts along
the radius.

Burton’s
target is oblong and the figure is five foot 8 inches tall. Showing the lines
of the 12 cuts and the angle of the saber. He notes that the target “directs
the recruit on how to make the cuts, but not exactly where; this must depend
upon how the opponent acts during the attack and the defense.”

The Moulinet

Burton requires that this rotation movement
should be learnt before the recruit proceeds to the Cut.

This
section is a good example of Burton's urge to include detailed background on
his subject matter. Before he gets in to the action of the moulinets, a lengthy
footnote describes it as being a favorite movement of French sabrers. Most of
the footnote is written in French. Burton often added quotes in Latin, French,
Italian and other languages without translation. Readers had complained about
his use of untranslated quotes, to which he responded that he could not help if
they were not smart enough to read his books.

As
for the moulinet, he says "There is nothing better for "
breaking," as the French say, the recruit's wrist than this
sweep of the sword; and the style of a swordsman may
always be known by his Moulinet."

He
divides it in three kinds: Horizontal, diagonal and vertical.

The Cuts

Of making cuts, Burton says that "The
Cuts must, as a rule, be delivered within eight inches of the
point and at the "centre of percussion," so that
the sword may clear itself and the arm
escape a "jar."

He
adds that "The two
virtues of the Cut are its trueness and its velocity."

Burton
describes the various ways of making cuts, demonstrating his experience with
foreign styles. His preference is what he calls the “whip cut”, which is made
mostly from the wrist.

The
following are the five principal ways of cutting according to Burton:—

1.
The Chopping or Downright Cut, from the shoulder and fore-arm. This appears to
be the instinctive method preserved by Europe; most men who take up a
sword for the first time use it in this way.

2.
The Sliding Cut, common throughout the East. In this movement the elbow and
wrist are held stiff and the blow is given from the strong
muscles of the back and shoulder, nearly ten times larger than the
muscles of the arm, while the whole force and weight of the
body are thrown in. Hence the people of India use small hilts with
mere crutch-guards, which confine the hand and prevent the
play of the wrist; the larger grip required for the Chopping Cut only
lessens the cutting force. The terrible effect of these cuts is well
known.

3.
The Thrust Cut, with the curved (" Damascus ")
blade; a combination of point and edge, the latter being
obliquely thrust forward and along the body aimed at. This movement is a
favourite on horseback, when speed supplies the necessary forms, which can
hardly be applied on foot. It must be carried like a Point.

4. The
Whip Cut; in which the arm and elbow are kept almost motionless, and the blow
is delivered from the wrist. This is the principal Cut allowed in
my system; it is capable of sufficient effect upon the opponent
whilst it does not uncover the swordsman who uses it.

5.
The Drawing or Reverse Cut, which will be explained in the following pages; it
is the reverse of the "Thrust Cut."

The Engaging Guards, or Engagements.

The
next section details the Engaging Guards, which Burton explains "As the 'Infantry Sword Exercise'
has a deficiency of Cuts, so it
has a superfluity of "Engaging Guards."

Burton reduces
the Engaging to Tierce and Quarte.

He says that
"When engaging in guard (joining weapons),
the swords should meet each other about eight inches from the points. If the
distance is diminished the opponents are "out of measure"
(or distance); if increased, they are "within measure." The recruit
must be taught slightly to press upon the opponent's blade, but not to rest
upon it; by this "opposition" his hand and wrist will be
more ready to follow the weapon during the attack."

He recommends
that the right-handed recruit be taught the engaging guard of tierce, with the
opponent's blade in the outer line. The reverse position leaves the fore-arm
unguarded, and tierce facilitates the defense of the low lines.

The Guards or Parries.

The 'Infantry Sword Exercise' proposes
Seven Guards, but Burton says that in practice the advanced swordsman will
confine himself to Tierce and Carte with their natural modifications.

Of
guarding the head he suggests High Tierce or High Carte (rather than Prime). To
guard the legs he prefers Low Tierce or the rassemblement (withdrawing the leg)
to using seconde.

The Guards or Parries will be practised
like the Cuts, first in the "Second Position" (Guard), and afterwards
in the "Third Position" (Lunge).

Section III. THE MANCHETTE OR FOREARM
PLAY.

The manchette is
cutting at the hand, wrist and forearm with the inner edge of the blade. This
is Burton's distinct addition to saber exercises of the time. Burton says that
"A swordsman thoroughly trained in this
section does not allow the opponent to deliver a cut."

The manchette
allows a swordsman to disable his opponent, rather than being forced to deliver
a lethal blow. It also is a safer method of delivering a cut for the swordsman.

Burton explains "The natural man cuts as if he were
using a stick or a club, and the preliminary movement lays
open the whole of his body; indeed, exposure, I have said, is the
main danger of every attack with the sabre, however closely and
skilfully conducted. A cut through the muscles of the
fore-arm, either inside or outside, causes the sword instantly to be
relaxed and dropped; the man in fact is hamstrung in the upper works."

And
he adds "Finally I
meditated upon the comparative
humanity of ‘Manchette’, of disabling
the opponent by an arm-cut, rather than laying open his flank or his head.
During single rencontres in the field, especially at the
end of Indian battles, it is so often necessary to
put hors de combat some unfortunate, whose pluck or
sense of honour induces him to prolong the hopeless attack."

Burton
lists his system of manchette as the Direct Cuts, The Parries and Feints, the Reverse
or Back Cuts, and the Time Cuts.

The Time Cut (a cut delivered during an
opponent's attack, disabling the opponent before he can finish) is the
flower of the Manchette system, as the Manchette
is of the broadsword; and it is, perhaps, the part least
capable of being taught in books.

Burton then gives what he refers to as a synoptical
table of Manchette or Forearm play, showing the Cuts, the Guards
(Parries) for the Cuts, and the Ripostes or replies that should follow each
Parade.

In conclusion of the manchette play, Burton
says “I will end this system of Manchette with the
words of old Achille Marozzo, written some three centuries
and a half ago: ‘I would that ye swear upon
your sword-hilts never to use this knowledge against me, your master.’
But, in lieu of insisting that my readers never teach it without
obtaining formal permission, I only hope that they will favour me by spreading
it far and wide.”

An Appendix to
the Sword Exercises alludes to an improved form of sabre handle. Burton recommends
a modified grip made by the Italian Captain Settimo del Frate. This is
illustrated in the following diagrams.

The
Italian Del Frate’s grip design for the saber.

Burton suggests “I would further
modify his Fig. 1, so as to give more fulcrum to the hand. The thumb-plate
should be made weighty and the guard light, otherwise the blade will be
over-balanced, that is, heavier on one side than on the other. It need hardly
be said that the grip before going into battle should be whipped round with
thin whipcord, or better still, with web-cloth.”

Burton’s
modification to the grip, because he has to fiddle with everything…

Burton
never managed to have his treatise adopted by the British military. They
remained with Angelo for most of the nineteenth century. But Burton did manage
to publish a manual with a unique perspective and interesting insights.

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) was a one
of the leading post-impressionistic painters. He was also an accomplished
fencer.

Gauguin was born in Paris and lived a short while in Peru before
returning to France where he served in the French navy and worked as a
stockbroker. Here he developed friendships with the artists Camille Pissarro,
Paul Cezanne and Vincent Van Gogh, who helped to encourage his passion for
painting. Eventually frustrated by a lack of recognition and funds, Gauguin
moved to Tahiti, where he created some of his most famous works. Of curious
note, Paul Gauguin is listed as one of the saints of the Ecclesia Gnostica
Catholica (nothing to do with the Catholic Church), an organization based on
the philosophical law of Thelema developed by Aleister Crowley in the early
1900’s. Other saints include Odysseus, Merlin and Sir Richard Francis Burton.

Painting by Gauguin of Brittany Landscape 1881

Gaugin studied fencing with a master named Grisier. In his published journals a long section describes the views and opinions
of the artist on fencing. It is an interesting look at fencing of the late
nineteenth century. Gauguin gives advice on fencing, accounts of some of his
encounters, and is critical of the military fencing academy.

No more painting, no more literature; the
time has come to talk of arms. It happens that we have here now a real
gendarme. . . . You understand. . . . He comes from Joinville le Pont!! He’s a
terrible swashbuckler. Joinville represents, in a way, the prix de Rome of
physical exercises.

There’s a good deal in its teaching to be
taken or left. For my own personal part, I should leave it.

The fencing-masters turned out at
Joinville le Pont are generally very expert fellows, expert in the art of the
cudgel blow. They are certainly very able, but they are acrobats and usually
cannot do much with their pupils.

Fencing at Joinville la Pont

The saying goes, Have a good hand, and you
will touch sometimes. Have a good hand and good legs and you will touch often.
Add a good head, and you will always touch.

A good head, that is what they do not give
you at Joinville. They teach without discernment there.

The game of foils consists in making use of
two movements; the others are developed from them or are supplementary.

A backward and forward movement, and a
turning movement.

In the attack, they are called, One, two,
three and double

In the defence, they are called Opposition
and counter.

Simple as they are, these movements are
capable of an enormous number of combinations. To know them well is to be
skilful already.

The
regimental fencing-master, who excels in tiring you out, keeps you
doing one, two, three and double for a whole year; at the end, when the pupil
wishes to make the least little attack, he loses his head. “What shall I do?”
he wonders, “Come, one, two” He attacks, he disengages; his adversary takes the
counter. It doesn’t work. Naturally!

Your movements ought to correspond with the
parade.

It is essential, therefore, for the
instructor to make the pupil really understand by giving him his lesson slowly
and thwarting by his parade the movement commanded. Thus, for example, he gives
the command one, two, but instead of an opposition he parries gently with a
counter, so that the pupil attentively follows the parade and acts accordingly.
Now in regard to execution, they have a principle at Joinville le Pont which
they will not give up: Throw your arm out and lunge. But this makes it
impossible for the adversary to misjudge the distance; if he is attentive to
the movement of the knee, he is constantly forewarned.

Good civilian fencing-masters do
quite differently. The arm is stretched out gradually and the feint, which is
often useless, is only incidental.

We are willing to be corrected if we must
be, but we distinctly maintain that one should use one’s arms according to the
way in which one is built.

Thus, for example, as I have a weak wrist
and a delicate hand, I accustomed myself to use the muscles of the arm, with
all the strength concentrated in the small of the arm.

As I have a very large chest and did not
take up the practice of arms until very late, it was impossible for me, except
with the greatest discomfort, to hold myself according to regulations, almost
covered on the two lines. So without any discomfort, with my chest unprotected,
I accustomed myself to offer only a single line to my adversary, always opening
the engagement in tierce (today they say in sixte).

I
remember a certain first-class fencing-master at the Salle Hiacinte
in Paris. This instructor had arms and especially legs that were very small, and
he was in the habit of using his legs as if he had little wheels under the
balls of his feet. He never lunged, but by means of a series of little steps,
now forward, now back, he would be out of reach or directly upon you at once.
The head . . . always the head! You have a strong wrist, then wear your adversary
out with attacks, press him hard with sustained energy. But if your hand is
weak, let it skilfully parry all attacks, without attacking itself.
In fencing there are no dogmas, any more than there are secret
thrusts.

During my stay at Pont-Aven, the
harbour-master and fish-warden was a Breton of the place, a retired sailor who
was a fencing-master with a diploma from this famous school of
Joinville le Pont. With his help, we opened a
little fencing-school which, in spite of the low charges, brought him
a little income that gave him great satisfaction. He was a fine old boy and a
pretty good fencer, but not intelligent either as a fencer or as an instructor.
He really had no understanding of the science of arms. All he knew he had got
through stubbornness and endless practice.

From the first day, I saw that the poor man
had very short legs, so I, who am tall and long-legged, amused myself between
whiles making him mistake his distances, the result being that, in spite of his
skill of hand, he was always inches away from his mark. I talked to him about
it, but I might as well have been speaking Hebrew. Fortunately the old boy was
not proud, and for a while I became his instructor in all sorts of ways. I gave
him lessons in the manner I have described above, that is, opposing the pupil,
during the lesson, with parades different from those that had been announced.
Before long, we had an excellent master and the pupils made rapid progress.

To mistake distances. It is evident that if
you are going to attack, you must, without letting anyone perceive it, come,
with your elbows to your body, as close to your adversary as possible, by an
extension of the arm and a certain trick of stepping. In this way, the arm
extending stealthily, that is to say, in proportion to its movements, touches
its mark without the help of the legs. In the same way, in the opposite case,
your arm ought to be extended, you ought to lean slightly forward; then you
have the advantage of the whole length of your arm and a certain distance which
you gain in resuming the upright position.

The
military fencing-masters teach you not to attack until very late,
that is to say, when the pupil is discouraged. . . . A civilian master, almost
at the beginning, ends the lesson with a lesson in attack, allowing certain openings, making certain mistakes,
all this very slowly, so that in no case does the pupil form the habit of
muffing. What, I have made an attack and you have not disengaged? What, I have
parried with an opposition and you have tried to double? And so on. In this way
the pupil, interested from the very beginning, learns the science of arms and
is accustomed from the first to apply the lesson in an attack, and makes very
rapid progress, without, however, tiring himself out as if he were an acrobat.

The various fencing-matches that
take place in Paris every year are the proof of what I have just been saying,
for one sees fencing-masters beaten by civilians who have had ten
times less practice than they.

The head, it is always the head.

Our excellent master at Pont-Aven was very
much astonished when one fine autumn day there arrived at
the fencing-school a pair of swords, a present from an American pupil
who had well-lined pockets. In a match with the professor, I showed him that
this again was quite a different game.

Certainly one must always begin the study
of arms with foils; that is the best foundation. But one has to apply this
knowledge quite differently in a duel. In a duel, the question is not one of
correctly touching certain specified spots; here everything counts. One must
consider that on the field dangerous strokes are also dangerous for oneself.

A man who parries well and returns cleverly
is a fine swordsman.

There is no regular position; it is the
adversary who indicates to us the position we ought to assume. Everything is
unforeseen, everything is irregular. In a way, it is a game of checkers. The
victory is to him who deceives the other and is the last to be tired out.
Beware of having your nails underneath, for a strong blow will surely disarm
you. Your arm should be extended slowly, and in the line of tierce; otherwise a
binding of the blade is to be feared. The contrary is true if your adversary is
left handed.

Study your adversary carefully, find out
what are his favourite parades, unless he is too clever and plays the game they
play at school—evens and odds. In this case, you must have very irregular and
unexpected movements in order to make your adversary believe you are about to
do something quite different from what you intend.

I could write at length on this subject,
but I hope the reader has sufficiently understood.

Finally, if you have to do with an
adversary who clearly out-matches you, guard yourself well and, at the least
forward movement on his part, present your arm to his point. Honour is
satisfied and you get off with a trifling wound.

On the other hand; if you have before you
someone who has never fenced, take care, he is dangerous. He uses a sword
simply as he does a stick, slashing up and down. Do not hesitate, make the
counterpoint, and a blow on the head or in the face will properly settle him
for you.

I have met many braggarts in my life,
especially on trips to the colonies. You have only to talk with fellows like
this for a few moments to know how to deal with them. Thus a little solicitor,
whom I have already introduced to you, told me one day that he was a terrible
fellow, as he had spent fifteen years in a fencing-school—he, a
little shrimp whose sex and species it would have been hard to specify!

I seized the opportunity, one day when I
had been asked to lunch with him on a certain warship, to bring the
conversation around to this subject. I said to him, “I have not spent fifteen
years in a fencing-school, but I’ll wager you a hundred francs and
give you eight to ten.” Naturally he did not take me up.

In the regiment, the officers do not go to
the fencing-school, they prefer going to the club to play cards. As
for the soldiers, it is a bore all round, for them and the master alike. Some
show a turn for it; they are made assistant masters.

In military training they make use of the
body but never of the head.

I have often had occasion to cross swords
with these assistant masters; they are all of them unintelligent hacks.

It is almost the same thing at school. You
must have some knowledge of fencing to enter St. Cyr, and the master
tries to earn his money as peacefully as he can.

Fencing at Saint-Cyr

I remember those days. We had as our master
the famous Grisier, who used to send us his assistant. (I do not remember his
name, but he must still be alive, for he has a fencing-school in
Paris.) This assistant was celebrated for his thrusts.

Old Grisier used to come sometimes, engage
with the foil in his right hand, and with his left hand manage to give us a
light tap on the cheek. I have received them. It was really an honour he did
us, calling it the Grisier thrust. He had been the Czar of
Russia’s fencing-master.

Painting of a fencer by Gari Melchers 1893

I have talked enough
about fencing, and you must excuse me. It is all because of this
famous gendarme who comes from Joinville le Pont. But I am not going to let you
off, just the same. I am .going to bore you now with a little lesson in boxing.
Another chance for a little boasting!

Monday, February 8, 2016

An examination of the
fencing manual Sword Exercise, Arranged
for Military Instruction by

U.S. Army Brevet
Major Henry C. Wayne (1815-1883)

Major Henry C. Wayne, one time Director of the Sword Exercise in the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Sword Exercise Title Page

The
United States was also producing manuals for sword exercise. Brevet Major Henry
C. Wayne of the U.S. Army wrote The Sword
Exercise, Arranged for Military Instruction which was published by the
authority of the War Department in Washington in 1850. Wayne was at one time
the Director of the Sword Exercise in the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He
was noted for having traveled to the Middle East to purchase camels for the US
Department of War to test in the deserts of the western United States. The camel
experiment was discontinued after the start of the American Civil War, where he
became a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army.

Camels Arrive in Texas

The
1850 Manual is a combination of treatise Wayne wrote on the small sword and on
the saber, both copyrighted in 1849. There are similarities to Angelo’s Infantry Sword Exercise, whether he has
copied Angelo or used similar sources.

The
book begins with an introduction by Wayne. “Sir: I have the honor to submit to
your examination A system of Exercise on
foot for the Small-Sword, Broad-Sword, Sabre, Cut and Thrust, and Stick as arranged
and taught by me at the U.S. Military Academy when Director of the Sword
Exercise at that institution.”

He
continues: “It is submitted at the request of some of my brother officers, to
supply a deficiency in our military instruction”. And adds: “As a healthy and
manly amusement, improving both the morale and physique of the soldier.”

The
first part is Fencing with the
Small-Sword, citing the system of La Boessiere* “as the best both in theory
and practice”. It is written as a more typical fencing manual, including
sections on how to mount and button a foil, etc. It contains five parts.

Part
I – Exercise without Foils

Part
II – Exercise with Foils

Part
III – Thrusts and Parries United

Part
IV – Wall Practice

Part
V – Cuts over the Point

Small-Sword Equipment

*La
Boessiere pere was the 18th century French fencing master that is
credited with developing the fencing mask and was instructor to the Chevalier
Saint-Georges. His son, Antoine Texier La Boëssière, wrote the fencing treatise “Traité de
l'art des armes à l'usage des professeurs et des amateurs”.

Wayne
follows this section with Exercise for
the Broadsword, Sabre, Cut and Thrust, and Stick. He says he has compiled
his information from several French and English treatise, but principally from
“Porter’s Self-Defence on Foot”. He also recommends that, while the elementary
parts should be practiced with a real sword, the use of wooden swords with leather
guards should be substituted for metal swords in practice.

Wayne
gives an explanation of a few terms not defined in the text:

Inside,
Inward – the left or to the left.

Outside,
Outward – the right or to the right.

Quarte,
applied to the hand – nails up.

Tierce,
applied to the hand – nails down.

Feeble,
applied to the blade – the half from point to middle.

Fort,
applied to the blade – the half from the middle to the blade.

Shoulder,
applied to the blade – the joint of the blade with the hilt.

The
manual contains three parts:

Part
I – Exercise without Swords

Part
II – Exercise with Swords

Part
III – Cuts and Parries United

Part I – Exercise
without Swords

The Guard
position (Second Position) has the weight of the body principally on the left
leg. For Wayne, this allows the fencer to retire his right leg from a cut or
throw the right leg rapidly forward in a “longe”. The body is effaced as much
as possible and the left hand is fixed firm on the hip bone or thrown across
the small of the back. Many of the actions are performed from First Position,
or standing.

The Longe
(Lunge/Third Position) – Wayne recommends that a long lunge is not as important
as being able to make a quick recovery. Fencers should be able to lunge from
both first and second position, and recover to them nimbly.

Once the
fencer is skilled in the guard, lunge and recovery, he can move on to exercises
with the sword.

Part II – Exercise
with Swords

To prevent accidents such as the
sword escaping from the hand, it is necessary to have a leather sword knot.

Wayne describes the grip to be used:
“The broadsword and sabre must be held with the fingers clenched round the
gripe” rather than placing the thumb on the back of the grip. This is because
the grip is often too short on a saber, and the weight or curvature will prove
too great.

The Guards are either in Tierce or
Quarte. Wayne does describe a hanging guard, but not until later in the manual.
His exercises are all done from either Tierce or Quarte.

Guard of Quarte

Guard of Tierce

Wayne then details the use of
moulinets. “The object of the Moulinet is to supple the joints of the arm and
wrist, and to give dexterity in handling and whirling the blade”. Wayne only
gives two – left and right, but from each engagement or guard. He then gives a
series of exercises involving advancing and retreating with moulinets from both
guards.

Wayne defines Traversing as footwork
to the side. Particularly useful, he says, if “the retreat should be obstructed
by a ditch or other impediment” and also “an antagonist may be brought in such
a position as to face the sun.”

Moulinet Target

The Cuts

Like Angelo, there are the seven cuts that are fairly standard to
instruction in the nineteenth century. Two cuts are diagonally downward, two
diagonally upwards, two horizontal, and one vertically downwards. Wayne
indicates they should be made principally by the motion of the wrist, keeping
the arm straight and in the direction of the cut. Bending the elbow would cause
“unnecessary width of motion”. The arm should be carried to the opposite of the
cut to keep the body closed and not expose it to the same cut from the
opponent.

Cuts - Direction

Wayne has
the swordsman practice the first six cuts combined while advancing and
retreating.

The Parries

Wayne
teaches the parries of Tierce, Quarte, Seconde, Demi-circle, and Head. He recommends
that when parrying a cut, to slip the right foot back to the left to avoid
attacks to the leg. The parries are delivered with a straightened arm.

Parry of Quarte

Parry of Tierce

Parry of Seconde

Parry of Demi-Circle

Head Parry

Part III – Cuts and
Parries United

Wayne
has the fencers “prove distance” by standing them in first position with the
swordarm straight so that the point is against the guard of the other blade.
From this distance, engaged in either quarte or tierce, they practice the seven
cuts and parries. The fencer delivering the cut “steps forward” with a short
lunge. The fencer parrying “springs back”, returning to first position while
parrying to avoid cuts to the leg.

After adding changes, disengages and feints to the drills,
Wayne goes on with definitions for other actions. He uses unfamiliar terms for
standard actions. This might be because of his own translations of foreign
manuals, or to create his own terminology.

Bearing
(Press) – forcing an adversary’s blade from the line of defense

Battering
(Beat) – striking an antagonists sword to obtain an opening

Round
parries – simple parry united and preceded by a counter parry.

At
this point Wayne introduces the Hanging Guard and gives its advantages and
objections. The Hanging Guard covers a large portion of the body, prevents
thrusting below the wrist and obviates feints. It also “requires a trifling
motion of the wrist to meet any cut”. The hanging guard can be tiresome, but
practice can overcome this defect.

Hanging Guard

He
also describes the “Application of the Point” in saber, which he says has fewer
thrusts than the small sword due to its weight. It should be made with the hand
sufficiently high to cover any cut that an adversary may be likely to make, and
to retard a disengagement. The thrust should be made with opposition, either
inward or outward.

Circling

This
is described as making a circle of about three feet with the diameter of the
point. The fencer should keep the wrist at the height of the shoulder, the weight
of the body resting on the left leg, the head well back. Circling is
serviceable when engaged in the dark to regain the feel of the enemy’s blade.

Wayne
then illustrates some actions that deviate from the general principle of
“cutting towards an antagonist’s blade”. This includes cutting both under and
over the sword, and cutting at the advanced leg or thigh.

Timing
is an attack made on an opponent as he changes position.

Wayne
describes some Disarming actions, though he says they are not likely to succeed
against a good swordsman, but useful against an indifferent one.

He
finishes with some General Observations, giving a description on the use of the
espadon and the stick or cudgel exercise. He then adds recommendations on
opposing the small sword, espadon, bayonet and cavalry with the saber.

The
salute is explained.

1st
Motion – Raise the sword, held perpendicularly, point up, opposite to the right
eye; guard at the height of the shoulder; elbow supported against the body.

2nd
Motion – Drop the point to the front to within six or eight inches of the
ground, by extending the arm downward, bringing the hand in quarte to the side
of the right thigh.

3rd
Motion – Recover to the position of carry swords.

Resume
the first position, and engage.

Wayne
ends with a comment recommending the practice of these exercises with the left
hand as useful and amusing. It will develop muscles in the left arm, side and
leg and be advantageous if the right arm becomes disabled during a contest.

About the Victorian Fencing Society

The Victorian Fencing Society was formed in 2011 for the Research, Training and Demonstrations in the fashion of fencing from the nineteenth century.
We meet in the Dallas area for monthly practice in nineteenth century fencing techniques at the Fencing Institute of Texas. President and Instructor Jonathan Carr started fencing in 1984 and has been coaching fencing since 1997.
Our primary manuals of study come from the Fencing volume of the Badminton library published in 1889 by Walter H. Pollock, F.C. Grove and Camille Prevost, Foil and Sabre by Louis Rondelle published in 1892 in Boston, and Alfred Hutton’s treatise on Saber called Cold Steel published in 1889.
The society is open to all individuals interested in studying the history of fencing in the nineteenth century. No experience is necessary.
Please contact Jonathan Carr for any questions at the email listed in the contact info. Check out our facebook page for recent activity.